Soft Spot
by Xeylah
Summary: Who knew that the iron dragonslayer had such a soft spot for… bluenettes? Drabbles about Gajeel's brotherhood towards Wendy, friendship with Juvia, and romance with Levy. Rated T for Gajeel's mouth and possible suggestive themes. Read and Review!
1. Chapter 1

**Soft Spot**

**Summary: Who knew that the iron dragonslayer had such a soft spot for… bluenettes? Drabbles about Gajeel's brotherhood towards Wendy, friendship with Juvia, and romance with Levy.**

**Section 1: Tears **

**Chapter 1: Bloodstained**

Gajeel walked up to his house, he had just got back from a mission and went straight home from reporting back to the guild. Lily decided to stay back so Gajeel and Levy could have some privacy. Levy was often at Gajeel's house, even if he was gone. No, they did not have _sex, _and no, they weren't even _dating…_ not officially anyway. They were just, _together_. They'd been close since Tenrou island for Mavis's sake! So, when she'd have nightmares, which wasn't uncommon for mages, she'd go to Gajeel's house. It had gotten to the point where neither of them could really sleep well without the other. They weren't dating, but like _hell_ he was going to let anyone else have her!

He opened the door to his house and breathed deep, he could smell she was there. He went to his bedroom and put his bags down and heard… the shower? The _hell_? He walked up to the bathroom door and knocked.

"Oi! Lev, you in there?" Gajeel shouted over the noise of running water.

"Gajeel?" he heard her muffled voice coming from the other side of the door. And he blushed slightly, because Levy was in his _shower_ for Mavis's sake! But then he heard something else. Sobbing. Shit. Whoever made the Shrimp cry was going to _pay…_

"Y'okay in there Bookworm?" Gajeel asked to the bathroom door. Yes, Gajeel felt like he was talking to the stupid door.

He could barely hear the response coming from the other side, her voice muffled by tears and running water. "Gajeel… _help me_."

So, Gajeel opened the door. Levy was sitting in his shower with the curtain open, fully clothed, save for her sandals which lay at the side of the tub. Gajeel relaxed a little, until he saw her sobbing. She had her knees hugged close to her chest and was rubbing violently at her hands.

Gajeel sighed, knowing _exactly_ how she was feeling. He climbed into the shower, boots and all, and sat down behind her. He placed his legs on either side of her tiny body, so that she was leaning against his chest. He took her hands in his so that she'd just _stop _for a second. She sobbed harder.

"I c-can't get the blood… _off_." She cried and tried to scrub at her hands again. But, he was stronger. He held her hands in his firmly, just to stop her from franticly scraping her skin.

"Let me." He rumbled. "Y'll scrape y're damn hands off." And so, she sat there sniffling while he held her hand gently in his and rubbed small circles with his thumbs. Her hands were clean and pure white, there was no blood. But he gently wiped the imaginary blood away like she had done for him so many times.

_Gajeel sat upright in his bed, his heart beating out of his chest and his body wracked with a cold sweat. He threw the covers off and stormed to the bathroom. He turned the faucet of the sink so hard that he was surprised he didn't break it off. He shoved his hands under the ice cold water and scrubbed. He scraped at his hands with the strength of iron, so that his knuckles started to bleed. The irony was pretty disgusting. "Shit, shit, _shit_!" Gajeel cursed. Why wouldn't it come _off!

"_Gajeel." He froze at the sound of her voice. He had forgotten she was there. He stopped but he didn't turn to look at her, because he wasn't sure he could face her like this. Weak. She walked up beside him and stuck her finger under the running water. She adjusted the temperature of the water so that it was warm and slipped her hands into the water over his. Her hands were soft and cool as she wiped away the _real _blood he had caused, trying to get the imaginary blood off. Again, the irony was sharp as his iron. _

"_You know," she looked at him and smiled bitter-sweetly. "There wasn't any blood on your hands." She turned off the water and folded his hands into a towel._

"_Tch. I know." He hung his head like a scolded child and looked at his hands. He still couldn't look at her._

"_Gajeel." She said again. Damn. Now he _had_ to look at her. He shifted his head up slightly so their eyes could meet. She smiled softly at him as he held one of her hands, but dropped the other to run his fingers across her cheek._

She'd washed his hands more times than that, and he found it bitter that now he had to do the same for her.

"I-I didn't mean t-to." She cried as he continued to turn her hands over in the running water. "It was an accident…"

"Shhh… I know Lev." He quieted her. "Of course it was." Of course it was an accident. Whatever happened couldn't have been her fault. Fairy Tail mages didn't kill people, they showed mercy. _She_ showed mercy. "Look." He lifted up her hands and turned them over for her to see. "There's no blood on 'em, see?" He let her hands go, and she held them shaking in front of her face. "They're pure, and clean." He wrapped an arm around her waist. She started crying harder, so he pulled her closer to his chest, wrapping his other arm around her. She held her head in her hands and cried.

They sat there like that for a few minutes, until the sobs wracking her body started to subside. She breathed in shuddering breaths and leaned her head back against his heart, placing her hands over his. She closed her eyes and sighed. They were both completely soaked, but at this point neither of them really cared. "He was a dark mage we were supposed to stop." She began to answer his unspoken question. "He…" She took a deep breath.

"Stop," Gajeel pressed his face into her hair. "Ya don't have to say anymore. I know."

**AN: Yes, I know I'm supposed to be working on "Gajeel Doesn't Read", but I will be working on this one as well. This will be in sections of three. Each section will have a theme and one chapter for Levy, Wendy, and Juvia. Feel free to suggest themes if you have any ideas! Also, review!**

**PS: HAPPY NEW YEAR!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Soft Spot**

**Section 1: Tears**

**Chapter 2: The Day They Left Us**

It was July 7th. Gajeel hated this day. He would go to his grave saying that he didn't care about his dragon-father's disappearance, but he doubted he would ever stop hating this day more than anything in all of Fiore. He doubted he would ever stop being so bitter on this particular day. He begrudgingly got out of bed that morning and headed to the guild, shoving the doors open with only mild irritation, instead of his usual rage. He was too damn tired for this, tired of everything. He grumbled and sat down at the bar in his usual corner. Maybe no one would bother him today. But wait, what was this he heard? Or rather, what was this he _didn't _hear?

"Oi, Mirajane!" Gajeel shouted. "Where's Salamander?"

Mira looked at him from her place at the bar. "He left earlier, took a mission with Lucy, Gray, and Erza."

Huh. No wonder it was quiet. He glanced at the mission board. Maybe he should do the same, though he wasn't planning on doing anything today. As he debated with himself, he saw something he wasn't pleased to see. Wendy. Not that he didn't like the tiny dragoness, but he didn't want to see her like she was today.

It was obvious she'd been crying. Maybe not obvious to the rest of the guild, with that fake smile plastered on her face, but he could tell. She hated this day too. Damnit. Natsu was better at this "nakama" stuff than he was! He was closer to Wendy, wasn't he? But, when Gajeel looked at the blue-haired child, he knew what he had to do. He stood up, walked over to where she was sitting, and looked down at her.

"Squirt. We're leaving." He then turned sharply and left, expecting her to follow.

"A-aye!" Wendy jumped up and started to trail behind him.

Charle, on the other hand, was not willing to let her go so easily. "Where does that big ugly brute think he's going with my Wendy?" She started to fly after them, but a brown paw stopped her. "Lily?"

Pantherlily looked at her seriously. "Relax, Charle. Gajeel thinks of Wendy like a little sister, he won't take her anywhere dangerous."

Charle sighed, but nodded and sat back down with Lily and waited for the dragonslayers' return.

XXXXxxxx

Gajeel walked out of the guild, tiny girl in tow. For the first time in his life, he wished the Salamander was here. He could take care of the crying girl far better than he could. But Natsu wasn't here, so he led the girl to the park. He sat down cross-legged at the foot of a particular tree that he also hated, but for a different reason. It wasn't important today.

Wendy stood in front of Gajeel, and he motioned for her to sit down. She sat down facing him and tilted her head to the side. "What are we doing here, Gajeel san?"

The iron dragonslayer looked at her gravely for a moment, thinking. What should he say? "Why were you crying?" He knew why but, Levy always said that it helped to talk about things when you were sad, so…

Wendy looked surprised. "I-I wasn't-"  
"Don't lie to me." He looked at her sternly.

She sighed and looked away, new tears starting to form. "G-Grandine…"

He sighed. He was just making this worse, wasn't he? He moved so that he was sitting next to her instead of across from her. He laid down, put his arms behind his head and looked at the sun shining through the leaves of his least favorite tree. "I know kid. I know."

She flopped down beside him and spread her arms out to the sides. And she started to cry. And he didn't know what to say so he waited until her sobs became sniffles and she asked him a question. "Gajeel?"

"Hm?" He turned his head slightly to glance at her.

"Do you ever miss Metalicana?"

It was such an innocent question. One that he'd usually answer with scoffing and bitter words. Instead, he sighed heavily. "Yeah. I do."

She looked at him curiously. "Really?"

His mouth twitched up into a bitter, half-smile. "Whenever Lily and I visit a scrapyard full of metal and iron, or if I visit a blacksmith where I can smell the hot iron, or…" He took a deep breath and looked at her seriously again. "Or on July 7th. Then… then I miss him." He looked away from her and back up at the sky. That was more he'd shared about his dragon-father in… well, ever.

"I…" Wendy started to say something, small and quiet. "I miss Grandine… On days like today, when the breeze is warm and nice." She smiled brightly as she continued. "And, on days when it's so windy that everything blows away!" She giggled, but then thought of something and stopped. "Sometimes… I imagine the wind will blow me away… to where Grandine is." She looked at him, and for a moment, he hated Grandine more than he hated his own dragon, more than he hated this accursed day. He hated the sky dragon for leaving a little girl without a parent.

He looked away, a bitter hatred in his eyes, but also a deep sadness. "Well, now you've got Salamander, and Fairy Tail… and me."

She sat up abruptly, which made him sit up too to look at her. She started crying again and he thought he'd said something stupid before she threw her arms around his neck. "Th-thank you, Gajeel nii." She buried her face in his neck and started to sob. So he just held her because what the hell else was he supposed to do?

He hated this day. He would go to his grave saying that he didn't care about his dragon-father's disappearance, but he doubted he would ever stop hating this day more than anything in all of Fiore. He doubted he would ever stop being so bitter on this particular day. He doubted she would ever stop crying on this day, but he knew one thing. Even if he wasn't good with words, he knew that he would always be there to hold her on this day. He'd never abandon her, like they were abandoned.

**AN: Okay, so more angst kind of, but what do you expect? The theme is tears after all… Review and let me know what you think?**


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